Week 3 Football Release

BIG TEN FOOTBALL RELEASE - WEEK 3 | STANDINGS | MEDIA GUIDE | SCHEDULE

The Week 3 slate features 14 Big Ten teams in action, including one conference contest. The Big Ten will get its first taste of a pair of in-state, west coast rivalries on Saturday, as Oregon visits Oregon State, while Washington and Washington State meet in the Apple Cup, with both games slated to kickoff at 3:30 p.m. ET. UCLA will also play in its first Big Ten Conference game, as the Bruins welcome Indiana to the Rose Bowl on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Twelve of the Big Ten’s 18 teams are mentioned in this week’s AP and US LBM Coaches Polls, announced on Sunday. The AP poll includes No. 3 Ohio State, No. 8 Penn State, No. 9 Oregon, No. 11 USC, No. 17 Michigan, and No. 23 Nebraska, with Illinois, Washington, Iowa, and Wisconsin receiving votes. At No. 2, Ohio State leads seven Big Ten teams in the coaches’ poll (No. 6 Oregon, No. 7 Penn State, No. 11 USC, No. 16 Michigan, No. 22 Washington, and No. 24 Nebraska), while Illinois, Iowa, Michigan State, and Indiana also received recognition.
The Big Ten announced its first Big Ten Football Players of the Week, presented by IFS.ai, on Monday. Rutgers’ Kyle Monangai was named Offensive Player of the Week after rushing for a career high 208 yards and three touchdowns in the Scarlet Knights’ 49-17 win over Rutgers. Monangai became the first Scarlet Knight to rush for 200 yards since Josh Hicks did so in the 2014 Quick Lane Bowl.
Illinois’ Xavier Scott claimed Defensive Player of the Week honors after totaling eight solo tackles in the Illini’s 23-17 win over Kansas, the team’s highest ranked nonconference win since 1995. Scott also collected two interceptions, returning one for a touchdown, recorded a sack, and sealed the win with a strip sack forced fumble on the game’s final play.
Oregon’s Tez Johnson returned a punt 85 yards for a touchdown in the Ducks’ 37-34 win over Boise State to earn Special Teams Player of the Week honors. Johnson’s touchdown return marked the program’s first punt return for touchdown since 2018 and Oregon’s longest punt return since 2008.
Michigan’s State’s Nick Marsh was named Freshman of the Week after posting 194 receiving yards on eight catches and a touchdown in the Spartans’ 27-24 win at Maryland. Marsh enters the program record book with the 10th most receiving yards in a single game and second most by a true freshman. After recording just one catch for 11 yards in last week’s collegiate debut, Marsh recorded a pair of 50+ yard receptions, a 77-yard touchdown catch and a 57-yard reception, both coming in the fourth quarter.
Indiana rewrote its record books in Friday’s 77-3 win over Western Illinois. The 77 points marked the most in program history with a program-record 10 Hoosiers finding the end zone. Indiana also rushed for 335 yards and passed for 378 yards to mark the first time since 2015 the team topped 300 yards rushing and passing in the same game.
Three Big Ten teams posted shutouts on Saturday, with Minnesota, Ohio State, and USC winning a combined 152-0. The Gophers surrendered just 135 total yard, including 18 rushing yards in a 48-0 win over Rhode Island, while the Buckeyes’ defensive effort held Western Michigan to 91 total yards in the 56-0 win. The Trojans held Utah State to just 10 first downs, as they rolled to a 48-0 triumph.
The top two teams in the regular season standings will meet in the 2024 Discover Big Ten Championship Game on Saturday, Dec. 7 at Lucas Oil Field in Indianapolis, Ind. The game, which will be broadcast on CBS for the first time ever, will be the first in conference history to match the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the overall conference standings.